Christmas Chaos
by izzy95
Summary: Emily and Hotch likes each other, but a misunderstanding leads to a broken heart and suddenly Emily is in a coma! Will this chaos ever end? Story better than summary. Writen after the episode 4x3 Minimal Loss. Please R&R!
1. The Ball

It was the first ball that the bureau held, that BAU got invited to so the whole team was all worked up, and ready to shine. Especially Hotch had done an extra effort to look good this night. And he had succeeded with an A+. All of the girls were all over him, and even the big guys could see that he was serious about this. But it wasn't all the bosses or the crowd of beautiful random chicks he wanted to shine for. He had _one_ very special girl in his mind. And he finally wanted to be able to tell her he felt, without chicken out. To let her know that he actually cared, and never wanted her to get hurt. He wanted to kiss her. Seduce her. Make her happy. As happy as he felt whenever he was around her. He wanted to finally hold Special Agent Emily Prentiss so close on his arms that he could he could feel her heart beat in his arms and tell her that he was in love with her. He had been so close to losing her it almost hurt. He wanted her to at least know how he felt if anything happened again. He couldn't lose her before he ever had her. So he planned to either try to seduce her, and if all failed, just go up and tell her straight out how he felt! And maybe tonight was his lucky night...

"Wow! Emily, you look… wow!" JJ said as Emily walked in to the big hall.

"I really hope that's a good wow, because this wasn't very easy to pool out of the sleeve!" Emily joked and forced a fake smile onto her lips. It still hurt when she smiled, due to the wounds on her face. She was absolutely not in the mood for some kind of grandly and distinguished ball at this time, but there wasn't much of an option here. She still wanted to do her best and show as a good agent that took her job very serious, and didn't fool around after a rough week, because she was feeling a bit down at the time.

"I think that what JJ's trying to stay, is that you look absolutely stunning." Hotch said, cutting JJ off.

Emily felt her legs weaken a bit and she tried not to blush as she saw him. And he was saying that _she_ looked stunning?

She smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling for the first time since the hostage situation, but before she could thank him for thank him for the complement, he held out his hand for her to take.

"Can I have this dance?" He asked. How could he be so in control? It didn't look very like him.

"I don't know, Hotch…" Emily hesitated on wetter it was a good idea or not, but ended up taking his hand anyway. Maybe this would help her turn the mood into something lighter.

"Alright, but only one dance then."

He chuckled lightly as he let her gently out on the floor, as the gentleman he truly was. Soon followed JJ and Reid. I didn't take Garcia long either to drag Morgan onto the floor. Rossi was already out there, dancing very closely a probably random girl, a bit younger than him, who looked unfamiliar to the rest of the team.

Once out on the white marble floor, Hotch place on hand around her waist and the other gentle took hers in his. Emily placed her other hand very gentle a carefully on his shoulder. They moved in perfect symmetry around on the floor, showing their pride.

But when the tempo of the songs started to decrees, Emily got a bit nervous. But she followed his lead, wrapping her arms around his neck, as he placed both of his hands on the smaller of her back, closing the distance between them a bit more. Hotch slowly moved his lips closer to hers, but instead of responding, she laid her head on his shoulder. She still wasn't sure about this. And especially not with her bosses surrounding them. Hotch also got a bit anxious when he felt how fast her heart started to beat.

Emily hung on for a bit, but then excused herself, saying she had to go to the bathroom. When she got back, Hotch was chatting thing Rossi and Morgan. Emily just wanted to walk away. She was really having a hard time holding herself together tonight. But even so, she decided to hide in the background out of eye reach, eavesdropping on the boys' conversation.

"Do you really think so?" She quickly recognized Hotch's voice.

"Defiantly. That girl is all over you." It was Rossi speaking now. But who was the girl they were talking about? It could be someone she had heard of. But then, Hotch wasn't exactly the one who shared his private life with her.

"I don't know guys. You know Emily. Like she even cares?" As Hotch's words hit Emily, she realized it was _her_ they were talking about! She wasn't sure if she wanted to stay and listen to the rest of it, but she had to hear what happened next.

"Dude, I wanna bet big, that you could get that girl into bed as easily as blinking!" It was Derek this time. Emily's heart crashed for a second. She couldn't believe they thought so low of her.

"A bet? You want to bet? Well I wouldn't mind having _her_ sleeping in my bed tonight, if you know what I mean." Hotch chuckled lightly with the others. Hotch wanted to bet? Emily couldn't believe it! Was she just some kind of toy for him to play with? Didn't he know how much she loved him? But if this was what he was like in reality, he sure as hell wasn't worth it! Emily turned around and walked away.

"You're on old man!" Rossi chuckled. That was the last thing Emily heard before she left to the bathroom once more. She just wanted to lock herself inside and never come out again.

Hotch chuckled for a brief second before getting serious.

"No. No bet. Say what you want, but I actually like her. In fact, I'm in love with her. I could never do something like that to her." He said, looking down on the glass in his hand.

"Hey, Hotch. We're just kidding with you man. We've _all_ been there, right Rossi?" Derek puffed into his arm once, still not completely serious.

"_Right_…" Rossi said a bit sarcastic.

* * *

Emily was sitting at an empty table. She didn't like this party _at all._ So just wanted to go home and head straight to bed. But she didn't feel like she could leave now. It wasn't the proper time just yet. It was still too soon.

Emily looked over at Hotch. Why was his smile so huge? He really didn't give a damn, did he? He just wanted to get in bed with her, nothing more. How nice…

Hotch glanced over at her direction and smiled when their eyes made contact. Emily tried to smile back; after all, he was her boss. But the smile quickly faded as she went to go outside to the empty garden just outside.

Hotch quickly saw her movement away from the crowd as saw it as the perfect situation to tell her about his feelings for her. He's heart was beating like hell, but he was going to stick to his plan and try to seduce her.

"Emily. What are you doing out here all alone? Are you okay?" Hotch asked in a very soft and gentle voice, as he laid his hand on her back, after approaching.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wanted to get some fresh air." Emily lied as she tried to cover a tear in her eye by smiling brightly. He seemed to believe it much to her relief. She turned around to look him in the eyes as nothing ever had changed.

"You're so beautiful, Emily… I love you." He simply said, not so much to her surprise. But she still couldn't believe that he lying her up in the face. How stupid did he think she was?

Emily tried to hold back the tears, but it was getting harder. He was so calm, it didn't make any sense. But before she could say or do anything, Hotch started to move forward, placing her hand around her waist to pull her closer to him. Emily couldn't move away, standing stiff like a rock, when Hotch lightly brushed his lips against her. Then he started to kiss her for real. Emily couldn't get herself to kiss back. She just couldn't. She simply just closed her eyes waiting for it to be over, when he started to kiss her neck. It almost made her sick, but she didn't move away. A part of her still shivered to his touch. He was so amazing and beautiful and smart and she was still in love with him… But she wanted to have some dignity left so she didn't kiss him back.

Hotch slowly made his way up to her cheek were he stopped, when he felt something wet hitting his nose… A tear…

Quickly he released her from his grip, holding her in the arms looking concerned at her face. Her eyes were shot down in denial, tears were falling down her face and her body was like a shivering rock. Hotch was beginning to feel worried.

"Emily, Emily, are you okay? Emily?" he almost shouted as she didn't reply.

Emily slowly opened her eyes looking almost frighten into his indeed concerned once, and simply ask _one_ little question:

"Why?"

Emily breathed out and shocked her head before turning around and starting to walk away.

"Emily, Emily!" Hotch said as he moved after her. This had _clearly_ been a _big_ mistake. "Emily! I'm sorry!"

Emily walked to the parking lot where her car was placed. Hotch almost ran after her to get her. He couldn't just leave things unsolved like this.

Emily's heart started to beat faster and faster when she realized that he wasn't going to leave. She closed her eyes. And 2 minutes after, everything went black…


	2. Agent Down!

It all happened almost like slow-motion in Hotch's eyes.

The first second he was running towards her, and the next second, she was lying on the ground with blood streaming out of her.

It had been a sharp shooter. He had been hiding in the wood next to the parking lot, behind one of the bushes, waiting for her to come out. It was one of Cyrus' followers. He had been forced out of the exploding building and was furious about what had happened. And in his believe, it was all because of Emily Prentiss. The FBI agent. He blamed her for _everything_ that happened. He was filled with anger and wanted revenge. So the moment he saw her on her way to her car, he aimed and shot. But because of the movement, caused by he quickly walk, the bullet ended in her stomach instead of her chest. Which Hotch dearly appreciated.

As soon as Hotch heard the shot, he quickly grabbed his gun and ran as fast as the light toward her, to protect her from harm.

So as soon as his eyes laid hands on the shooter, his gun went off, shooting several times in the chest of the man. He fell lifeless to the ground immediately.

"EMILY! EMILY!" Hotch shouted as he took her in his arms. She was starting to get weaker and weaker and he could fell it. He shouted desperately as loud as his lungs would allow it:

"_**HELP! HELP! OFFICER DOWN! OFFICER DOWN, SOMEONE FIND HELP!**_"

He couldn't believe this was actually happening! He hugged her tightly in his arms as a crowd started to form around them. The ambulance was on its way.

"Emily, Emily… Hold on _please_ hold on. You can do this!" He started to cry as he tightened the grip. "Oh God, Emily… I'm _so_ sorry… I'm so sorry Emily."

Emily tried to get out of his grip, but it didn't help. When he finally stopped hugging her and just held her in his arms, she looked him in the eyes.

"I don't get it Hotch… How could you?" Her eyes were filled with sadness and struggle to keep awake. It was just so cold, and she fell so tired. She just wanted to close her eyes, just for once.

"I thought…" He was starting to lose her. "I just thought… You cared for me, you know?" Those were her last words before she drifted away, into the cold and empty darkness.

* * *

Hotch was sitting at the hospital. His hands were red and filled with the blood of his love. She was in surgery right now. She had lost a lot of blood and at this stage; her chances seemed to be very low. But he couldn't give up hope now. Emily wouldn't die from him. She _couldn't_! It was just as simple as that. Not after all they've been through.

15 min after a doctor came out, slightly shocking his head, looking down at the floor. No… It couldn't happen. There must've been some kind of mistake! This couldn't happen! Not Emily! No…

"The surgery went well at first. We got the bullet and everything, but she didn't respond well to the drugs we used." The doctor said, walking toward Hotch. Hotch, of course, immediately got up from the seat to meet the doctor half way.

"What does that mean? She's going to be alright, right? She is going to be just fine, right?" Hotch tried. Tears were running down in a fast pace.

"I'm sorry sir, but right now she's in a deep coma. We don't know when, or even if, she is going to wake up again."

Hotch sighed. At least she wasn't dead. But he couldn't accept this. This was _not_ supposed to happen… But he couldn't do anything about it, and he knew it.

"I want to see her… I- I have to!" Hotch began to move toward the room the doctor came from.

"Sir, I really don't think that's a very good idea." Hotch didn't care. He wanted to see her, and he wanted to see her _now_! "Sir! Sir, you can't do that! I'm sorry sir! _Sir_!" The doctor's tone got harsher and more determined in the last word.

Hotch grabbed the doorknob roughly, but looking at the blurred window, he couldn't do it. Even though she was lying there on the other side, he couldn't do it. He broke completely down. He couldn't take it anymore…

* * *

Hotch was sitting on the chair next to her bed. It was only around 5 am, but he had to see her. He had to be the first one of his team-members to go see her.

Hotch gently laid his hand on top of hers, holding it carefully. He looked at her face. It just looked like she was sleeping. He just wished that those eyelids of hers would slowly part, and he once more could come to peace by her sparkling brown eyes, meeting his. But that wouldn't happen, and he knew it…

Hotch lifted his other hand to brush her silky black hair. In some way she looked so beautiful peacefully. Her skin was lightly pale in strong contrast to her hair, and her lips had a rosy color. It looked beautiful! Like a modern Snow White, waiting for her true love kiss to come and wake her up. Hotch moved his hand from her hair, to touch her lips. They were so awfully cold. He wished he could just hold her in his arms and make her feel warm. But he couldn't. He wished he could do something for her. Just _something_. _Anything_, really… He felt helpless looking down at her. It almost made him angry.

Hotch sat there for hours, just holding her hand and looking quietly at her peaceful face. He couldn't get himself to move away. He was still hoping that she would wake up and look him in the eyes and everything was going to be alright. But he knew that everything wasn't alright. He loved her. And he told her… But she didn't love him back, and got hurt instead. He never wanted that. He really thought that Dave and Morgan had been right, and that she felt the same way for him. But she didn't…

What on the earth was he going to do?

* * *

Later, the others came. At that point, Hotch had disappeared. He didn't want to show any emotions to his team. Especially not when it concerned team-members and feelings this deep. He was afraid that if he started to show how he felt inside, he was going to break down for good. And he couldn't let that happen. He was supposed to be the leader. The one who could handle everything, and still get to work the next day, just as ready as before. He couldn't do this. What was he going to do?

But he wasn't the only one to get emotional on this. Garcia was completely freaked out when she found out. She actually left her office just to go see her in the hospital, even though she was asleep. Well, the whole team actually came to the hospital, just to see for their own eyes, that it was true. And they were almost as devastated as Hotch.

Emily was gone and no one knew if she was ever coming back…


	3. Sweet Dream

Emily gasped in reaction of the new kiss planted on her rose-red lips. Suddenly things got a bit more intense, as Hotch deepened the kiss, making her eager for more. Her hands were roaming all over his body, as their tongues fought for dominance. It's was getting more and more hot, as he slowly started to undress her, still kissing her fiercely and intensely. Her lips were throbbing, eager for more attention, when he started to kiss down her neck. She tried to undo his tie, but he stopped her. He wanted to make the first move.

When the blouse was off, he started to remove her bra, and then moving down to her pants. Emily smiled. She had dreamed of this for a very long time, and now it was finally happening.

She was now standing completely naked in front of him.

Hotch took a step back in the room, to take in the beautiful sight in front of him.

Emily waited for him to move back to her, but he never did. After some time she was starting to feel frustrated. Why wasn't he coming? She tried to move forward, but she couldn't. It was like she was bound to the black floor.

"Aaron?" she said. But he just kept standing there, looking at her, like this was funny. Slowly his smile evolved into laughter.

"Aaron, please… I really don't like this anymore…" she tried, but it didn't help. Her frustration grew as she started feeling embarrassed and extremely exposed. Why was he doing this to her? Tears started to fill her eyes, as she tried to cover herself with her hands. She looked around in the black room, but she couldn't see her clothes. Why wasn't he helping her? What was so funny?

"Hey, guys come check this out!" he yelled behind him. Suddenly all of the boys from the team stepped forward, so she could see them. Had they been standing there all along?

"I told you so, Hotch. This woman will do _anything_ for you." Derek said.

"I see what you mean. Looks like I owe you some money." Hotch replied.

"This is actually quite interesting. Maybe I should try and go socialize with you sometime. I never imaged it would be so much fun, looking at a completely exposed woman." Reid told the others, observing her closely. Emily tried to cover herself up, but it didn't work. They were just standing there, doing absolutely nothing to help. She couldn't help but to feel betrayed by everyone. Even Reid? At least Rossi hadn't said anything.

"Don't bother to help her out guys." It was Rossi. "She's nothing more than a cheap slut. No wonder she had to bribe Strauss to get in. She's not worth a damn thing!" All of them started to laugh in agreement. Emily wanted to shout and protest, but her voice had disappeared. How could they do this to her? Stripe her of just to stand there and laugh? Did they have no heart? And where were her clothes? She looked all over the floor.

She tried to look behind her but when she looked back, they were all gone. Leaving her alone after ripping her naked. And instead of him, was now ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, also known as Emily's mother.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Emily asked surprised. She was now desperately trying to cover her naked body.

"I think the proper question is: what are you doing Emily? Selling yourself on the street like this?"

Emily looked puzzled at her mother. What the hell was she talking about? Sure, she was naked, but they weren't on the street or anything.

"What do you mean, mother? I'm confused." They weren't on a street, were they? Emily looked around and suddenly realized that she was standing the middle of the city, the place where prostitutes and drug dealers were. A couple of men were whistling at her. She was now desperate to get some clothes.

"What I mean? I thought there was hope for you, Emily. That you could change and make good. I now see that I was wrong… I'm really disappointed in you. This is the final straw. I'm sorry, Emily I can't do this anymore. Stay away from me, child. Don't ever come back, I don't want to see you again."

And with those words, she left again, leaving Emily still completely naked and exposed on the street all by herself. Things were getting out of hand in her head. At least she still got JJ and Garcia. And not to forget little Jack. He had completely won her heart with his cuteness. Emily closed her eyes, pressing her eyelids tightly together, trying to forget everything.

And when she opened her eyes, she wasn't on the street anymore, but back in the darkness. Now JJ and Garcia was standing there, looking at her with disgust. Emily looked down. She was still naked.

"You know what, I'm starting to get why her mother doesn't like her." JJ said.

"You're right. I mean, look at her. Personally, I wish Elle was still here. She was more of a woman. Proud and strong standing. Not like this one. She's just a weak nobody." Garcia laughed.

"I know what you're saying… Too bad Strauss fell for it. We would've been much better off without her!"

Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing. She always feared that they would feel like this, but she thought that she was still just nervous about being the new kid.

"Maybe I can hack in to the system and change it?" Garcia asked seriously.

"No, you'll just risk losing your job. Just ignore her, she's a nobody!" JJ laughed. "I mean, look at her! Completely naked, seducing the boss. What was she trying to do? Get a raise? Maybe a promotion? By banging Hotch? What a hoer! I'm glad he knows better than that, this is _so_ much more fun! What should we do with her? I got a lot of things in mind!" She started to jump a bit in excitement.

"I don't know, JJ… Is she really worth it? I think me should leave before we get infected by her."

JJ nodded, a bit disappointed.

"But we _should_ probably make sure she doesn't follow us, or go anywhere." Garcia smirked, bringing back the glimpse in JJ eyes. "Do you have your handcuffs on you JJ?"

Emily's eyes widened when JJ swung a pair of rusty metal handcuffs on her finger. Was this really happening? She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, she would be lying in her bed and it would all just have been a dream. She tried opening her eyes again, but nothing happened. She was still there, and JJ was still getting closer to her. She tried again, still the same result.

JJ took Emily's hand away from her chest, and cuffed it to a metal ring on a sudden cold and gray wall behind her. Emily tried to protest, scream, kick, fight, anything! But she couldn't. She had absolutely no control over her body. It was like standing inside an empty shell, watching as things happened before her eyes. Emily couldn't understand it! Had she been injected with some kind of drug? Wouldn't she remember that?

JJ removed her other hand away from the lower part of her torso. She was now completely uncovered, as JJ lifted the hand, cuffing it to the other ring. She did the same thing with her feet.

JJ stood up as close to Emily as possible. She lifted her finger, and dug the sharp nail into Emily's collarbone, creating a hole, making a drop of blood trays down her chest. JJ's finger continued up at her neck, making the wound follow her nail, where ever it went. It was getting more and more painful for Emily, but she couldn't do a thing about it. JJ's nail moved all the way up to Emily's cheek, lifting her face with the finger, so she could look really close into toughs frightened brown eyes.

"Sorry if this hurts a bit." JJ laughed devilish. Emily could suddenly move her arms, but they were cuffed. She tried to pull as hard as she could, but it didn't help. JJ's smile grew a bit wider as she saw how Emily struggled.

"Oh, we start to fight now, sweetie? You didn't even say a word when I did this to you. You like this?" JJ said with a trace of anger in her voice. Emily heard Garcia laughing a bit in the background.

JJ moved back, away from her.

"What a slut." JJ said. "You are really sick, you know that?" Garcia laughed a bit, as JJ confronted Emily, who was still completely helpless.

"Come on Garcia, let's go." JJ said, throwing the key to Emily's release right in front of her feet, but still out of reach.

Emily closed her eyes as hard as possible. Her whole body was hurting, including her heart and soul. She didn't want to be there anymore, but she couldn't escape it. She tried to think of something else, but was brought back to reality by a little boy's voice.

"Miss Emly, are you okay?" She opened her eyes, to see Jack standing in front of her. Emily felt a happy shiver go through her body. Finally, help was there. And he didn't even seem angry or scary like any of the others.

"Jack! Hey, buddy! How are you doing? Could you do me a favor and uncuff me?" Emily smiled down at the little boy.

"I'm sorry Emly, dad told me not to ever speak to you again. I really want to help, but he says you're a slut. And that's a bad word…" He said, backing off a bit scared of her. He turned around to walk away from her again.

"No, Jack! Wait! Please! Please, help me! I'm a person just like you!" she yelled desperately after him, trying to hit a nerve. She was crying hard now. Jack slowly and insecure turned around, and Emily saw that he was crying as well.

"Sorry Miss Emly. I really like you, and want to help, but I trust daddy more. Goodbye." He said before turning around once more and walking away. Emily tried to yell after him, but it didn't matter. He was gone, and not coming back.

Emily tried to scream and cry, but it didn't help. She wasn't going anywhere, and nobody was coming to her rescue. Nobody wanted her. She was all by herself now.

After some time, she didn't have more powers left in her body. She tried once more to break free from the chains holding her back, but it didn't help. Instead she relaxed in her body, making herself hang down. To her own surprise, instead of touching the chains, she fell right through, landing harshly on the ground. She was just so tired. She tried once to collect on the power remaining in her weak body, but she couldn't get up.

She gave up then. She didn't want to get anywhere. She couldn't take any of this hurt anymore. So she laid her naked body down on the warm ground. Feeling the heat filling her cold body, made all her nerves relax, and she stopped shaking.

Soon she fell crying asleep, not even wanting to cover herself up anymore. She was completely done. And wasn't trying to fight anymore.


	4. 4 LookAlikes

JJ was wakening by the arrival of Rossi. She had been sleeping in the hospital bed. Guess she was still hoping that something would happen, and Emily would wake up. She had to hope for something. Emily couldn't be gone. She just couldn't!

"Morning." Rossi greeted her.

"Morning… Anything new?" JJ asked, rubbing her eyes.

"No…"

JJ sighed. JJ hoped that something would change. She had a really bad feeling about this. All of the team-members had reacted in each their way. Morgan had gone to a bar, getting as drunk as possible and sleeping with some random girl, trying to forget. But it hadn't worked every well, so he had been calling JJ every hour to hear if anything had change. He, himself, hadn't really been in the mood to go visit her after last night. Understandable in some way.

Reid had been trying real hard to forget everything too. He had kept himself as occupied as possible, reading, thinking math and studying old crimes and playing chess in the park with everyone willing to play. He didn't know how to handle it, so he tried not to. In a way, he was a bit scared that he would start on drugs again if it hurt too much. And that was really the last thing that he wanted.

Garcia was worse than Derek. She had called JJ almost every minute. But she didn't want to go visit Emily either. Then it would all seem too real, and she was scared of breaking down over the loss of one of her beast friends. So she had also kept herself occupied in her own computer-world.

Rossi and JJ had been the once to stay with Emily, if anything would happen. But JJ had to go home to Will and Henry. She had just born him after all. Rossi didn't have anything exiting waiting for him at home, so instead he tried to help wherever he could be helpful. But in some way, it seemed like all of the team-members had accepted that Emily was gone. Except for one person. And none of the others had been able to break through to him. And that was Hotch. No one even knew if he had seen her since the accident. They were all hoping that he would, since everyone knew how much he loved her. But no one had even seen him. He had locked himself inside, buried in paperwork and unfinished cases, and it didn't even seem like he was able to accept that she was gone. He didn't want to face it. Not even to himself, and especially not toward his team. He was all alone, not wanting to speak to anyone. And that was what scared JJ a bit. She was afraid that he would come down hard, the longer it took him to face reality. He needed to see her.

"Why don't you go home JJ, I'll got this one." Rossi gestured toward the blonde media liaison.

"Alright… but call me if anything happens." JJ said, before getting up.

"Of course." Rossi smiled to her. It calmed her a bit down that she wasn't the only one willing to stay at that place.

Before JJ left the room, she turned around in the doorway.

"Sweet dreams, Emily…" She took a last glance around in the room, before walking out.

Time went by, and Christmas was coming to the BAU. And a very busy Christmas indeed. Cases seemed to storm in from everywhere. JJ tried to go see Emily every time possible, but after some time the visits seemed to decrease, and by time people more or less stopped to visit her.

Hotch was trying really hard to keep himself together. He couldn't understand why he was feeling like this; why he loved her… He was her boss, and it shouldn't be any more than that. So he tried so very desperately to keep his feeling locked away from himself to reach. But it just hurt so much. And as time went, it was like that box filled with all his feelings for her, kept fighting its way up to the surface. It hurt so badly in his chest; he didn't know what to do. It was becoming a problem by now, and the others knew it. He was getting unfocused on the cases or extremely emotional, which was a problem as a profiler.

The others tried to slowly over his job, and help him to communicate with others, but he simply pushed everyone away, insisting on that he was alright, and no help was needed.

JJ walked into the meeting room. There was a new case for the team.

It was in New Orland where 4 women, all look-alikes to Emily, had been found raped and murdered in the woods.

The team stayed and discussed the case for a moment, before they left. Hotch was the first person to leave the room, pushing Morgan to the side on his way out. JJ got up, about to go after Hotch, but stopped herself. She knew it wouldn't help. She just wished there was something she could do. Maybe it was for the best if Hotch stayed away for this case. But _that_ wasn't very possible, knowing him.

Hotch didn't speak very much on the plain. He had caught himself in his thoughts.

_This could easily have been Emily… Why couldn't anyone protect these women? Why does this make m so frustrated? I can't believe in feeling like this. You were her boss. Before… Why does it hurt so much? Oh, please Aaron. You know why this hurts. You just have to stay objective. Well, we all know that that's easier said than done. You loved her… No, you didn't love her. You still love her. That's why it hurts… _Hotch felt a tear pushing its way forward when admitting his feelings to himself, but he quickly whipped it away.

He looked down at the photos of the women. But he didn't see them, he saw Emily, lying dead before his eyes. Why couldn't he just wake her up? Why couldn't it be like the fairytale where she wouldn't wake up by a true love's kiss?

Hotch was yelling at the officer in front of him.

"THEN DO SOMETHING FOR _GOD_ SAKE! YOU ALREADY _GOT_ 4 VITCIMS! DO YOU WANT ANOTHER VICTIM, IS THAT IT?"

"No, of course not, sir. But we don't got the enough people for this stuff."

"THEN GET ENOUGH PEOPLE!"

Rossi broke in there, excusing for Hotch's behavior. When the pissed of officer had calm down a bit and left the room again, Rossi turned his attention toward Hotch again.

"What the hell was that?" he almost yelled.

Hotch was looking at the pictures on the table in front of him. He was crying. For the first time since Emily had gone into the coma, he cried.

"I can't do this anymore Dave. I don't know what to do? Every time I look at these women I see Emily. I see her smiling and laughing. I remember how brave she was getting beat up by Cyrus. I remember how big of a jerk I was be kissing her that night. I remember running after her. I remember holding her bleeding body in my arms, and looking into her scared and hurt eyes, and not understanding what was going on…" Hotch said.

Rossi sighed and sat down next to Hotch.

"You need to accept what's happened. You need to go see her, before this gets any worse. I'll go with you."

"Okay… I'll go see her…" Hotch said sighing, whipping his tears away, raising his back.

"But first of all, I need to go apologies to that officer." He laughed, getting up from the chair.

Rossi, also laughing slightly, pattered his back a couple of times, before leaving the room.

Hotch stopped in the doorway, looking back. He put his hands in his pocket, when he felt a piece of paper. That was weird; it must've been Rossi who slipped it in there.

He took it up and looked at it. It was a picture of Emily, smiling.

It almost made him sad to look at it. Knowing that she wasn't by his side. But maybe, just maybe, it still wasn't too late.

He felt a warm fussy feeling come from the inside of his body.

_Don't worry, Emily… Everything will be just fine. I'm coming to see you, and stand by your side 'till the moment you open those beautiful eyes again. I'm not going to leave you this time. I promise you, Emily Prentiss, I'll stand by your side._

_I love you…_


	5. Collide

"Ha ha…"

Emily tried to stand, but her arms and legs wouldn't allow her. She knew that laughter. Slowly she lifted her upper body, with help from her arms.

"Looks like I won after all."

She looked up into brown eyes. It was Cyrus. Emily felt the anger and hatred fill her body, but she was too tired to fight against him.

* * *

Hotch stood in the doorway to Emily's room, looking terrified. Rossi pattered him lightly on the back, encouraging him to go inside.

Hotch hesitated at the look of Emily, but finally stepping inside. He looked back at Rossi to tell him that he got this from now on.

Rossi nodded, understanding, and left the two of them alone again, closing the door behind him.

Hotch stood for a moment just looking at her beauty.

He brought the chair by her bed a bit closer, before sitting down. He wanted to be as close to her as possible.

He gently took her hand in his, and squeezed it lightly.

* * *

Emily looked down in the ground.

Cyrus got closer and closer. She could see his feet in front her eyes.

He walked around her once, stopping again at her bare stomach. He roughly kicked her one time, taking the air away from her. It took all her powers to hold back a scream. The pain was burning inside her. She tried to get up again, but slipped. Tears were starting to roll down her scared face. She let out a whimper as the boot hit her naked body once more, the same place as before. Emily bit down in her lower lip, trying to hold back her emotions. It just hurt so much…

Emily tried, but as the third blow stroke her, she gave up. She looked down at the flow. And that was when she saw it…

Her left hand… It was glowing! Emily suddenly felt warmth coming from her hand continuing upwards in her body, giving her strength and a weird feeling of safety.

But it all disappeared as Cyrus smashed the shoe down her hand, crushing it while smearing his shoe, making sure it would hurt. Emily screamed, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was tired of fighting. She didn't want to go on anymore. Not like this.

She lay down on her back, exhausted. Cyrus lifted his foot and stepped on her stomach, kneeling so he could look her closely into the eyes. Emily breathed out and relaxed in her body, before he smashed his fist in her face. Emily just closed her eyes, saying nothing. It was over. She was going to die now, and she knew it…

* * *

"Hey, Emily." Hotch said.

"I'm sorry I didn't visit you before. We had a rough time at work, not much time. Tons of cases, Strauss were a real bitch." He smiled, and looked down at their joint hands. "But don't tell her I said that…" He laughed lightly, tearing a bit up. She was so beautiful… Looking at her pale hand made him remember the night she got shot.

"Right now we're working on this new case." He stiffened a bit, thinking about it. "It's 4 women who all got raped and murdered down in New Orland… We almost just got there, so we don't know so much yet… But… I…" he froze momentarily. "I don't know what to say… This case really got to me. All of the victims… They're all look-alikes to you. I don't know what I would've done if it was you…"

He sighed.

"I wasn't lying Emily. I really like you. I…" he hesitated, looking at her closed eyelids. "I love you… Emily… I do…"

Hotch sniffed one time, remembering that she probably couldn't hear him. But he wished she could.

"I don't think you what you do to me sometimes… Every time you smiles…" he, himself was smiling just at the thought of her. "Emily, you move something deep inside me that I thought I'd lost. I wish you were mine. I wish I could hold you in my arms forever. I wish I could kiss you and make you smile so brightly. I wish I could make you laugh and that you'd stay with me and my 'foolish' heart forever. I just wish I could protect you from all the harm in the world… And…" Hotch felt a tear come up. This was so hard on him. "I wish… I wish that I could make you love me…" He whipped away a tear and straightened up.

"But I want you to be happy. And I could never make you happy, when you don't want me. I just wish…" He straightened up once more, beginning to feel too soft.

"But right now, I just wish that you would open your eyes again. But until then, sweet dreams…"

He smiled, even though it hurt in his heart. He sat still for a moment, looking at her. He closed his eyes. The constantly 'bibs' from the machine, made him calm down. It made him knowing that she was still alive, and that there was still hope. He just had to find it.

"But I, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, promise you _one_ thing, Special Agent Emily Prentiss. No matter what, and I mean this, _nothing_ can ever stop me from being by you side from now on. _Absolutely __nothing_ can stand in my way from this day and to the day I die. I'm going to make sure that no one ever harms you again."

Hotch sighed for a moment, not sure of what to say anymore. That's when he pulled up a little black box from his pocket.

"I… I've got you something… Nothing big, really…" He smiled, nervously, then pulled out a golden necklace. It had a little heart on it. On the front he had her name engraved in the gold. "Emily Prentiss" it said. On the back of it, was a little keyhole. When you turned the little key, the heart opened. It said, "The owner of my heart is…" and on the other side there were room for a name or an extremely petite photo. Hotch kept the key himself.

Slowly, the opened the necklace and lifted her head very carefully, so he could put it around her neck where it belonged. Before he turned back, he gently and carefully placed a small kiss on her lips, barely touching her skin. One last kiss. Then he sat back down, looking at her like he had before. The jewelry fit her so incredible perfectly. She almost looked like an angel, lying there so peacefully.

* * *

Cyrus' second blow hit her harder than the first one had.

"No… No… Please don't…" Emily cried. Her eyes were almost closed and her face was completely damaged by the wounds. She couldn't take this anymore. She had to try something. It hurt so much…

"You had enough already? That wasn't very much you could take this time." He laughed, sitting down on her.

"Please stop… I'm so tired… I can't… I can't take it anymore…" She was practically begging him to stop. It just made him laugh more than before.

"Good, cause I'm not don't yet."

Cyrus lifted his right hand, but just before it hit her face, it was stopped. It was Emily. She had grabbed his hand, holding the fist back, preventing it from hitting her. She was done with giving up, she couldn't take it anymore. She made herself sick, lying there on the ground like that. She couldn't not. Not Emily Prentiss.

Emily tried with all her powers to push his hand away, but her entire body felt so heavy.

That's when she noticed something. Her hand… It was glowing again! And her heart, it felt so warm and light all of the sudden. Her lips felt like burning. But in a good way. And that's when she heard it. His voice.

"I love you… Emily… I do…" It was Hotch's voice; it was coming from the inside of her. Emily knew that it was just something that she imagined to get strength, but it helped.

Emily crushed Cyrus' hand in hers, pushing it away from her face.

"Oh, you're playing fierce… I like it!" Cyrus laughed, pushing his knee into her stomach. But Emily wasn't done yet.

"Oh, I'm not done yet!" And with those words, she brought her own knee up in his crotch, making him squirm. The perfect opportunity to get up from the hard, cold floor.

Two seconds later he was on the ground again as well, chuckling lightly. This was going to be _so_ much fun…

He slowly moved forward, ready to hit her with everything he got. But Emily was quicker. She took him by the collar, and crashed his head onto her knee. It almost satisfied her seeing him drop to the ground, unconscious.

"Take that, you son of a bitch! Do you like playing fiercely now?" Emily asked, looking down at him.

She slowly, a bit sore, walked to him and lent down. She quietly removed his shirt to wipe it around her cold naked body. The thin piece of fabrics quickly clung to her body, giving her some warm.

"Oh, I'm not done yet either…" she said as she started to walk bare footed into the darkness in front of her, whipping the blood away from her mouth.


	6. Fight

**First of all, I would like to thank everyone for being so patient with me. I know this took me WAY too long time, so I'm gonna try a make it up to you guys. First of all, I would like to say that the next chapters will come in sooner than this, don't worry. Just busy with school. Second, I'll give you the change to decide what's gonna happen in the next chapter!**

* * *

_Fight, Emily. You have to fight this. You have to get back up, and fight this nightmare._

Emily looked around. She surely couldn't be awake. This was not her apartment, nor any other place she had been before. She wasn't even sure whether you could call it a 'place'. She was standing in complete darkness and couldn't even separate the floor from the wall - if there even was a wall. It didn't look like it; it just looked like she was standing in complete darkness, and only darkness.

She tried to look back, but Cyrus was gone, luckily. She didn't want to deal with him anymore.

She tried to walk forward, but quickly stopped when she felt a sudden pain to her stomach overwhelming her. She could hear a gunshot in the back of her mind. Her body curling inwards as she placed both of her hands on her stomach, to feel the warm and red liquid fill her hands.

Then she remembered everything! The ball, the bet, the kiss… The parking lot… The shooter… Hotch… She remembered Hotch and what he had done, and suddenly it was like her heart broke all over once more.

She closed her eyes tightly together to numb the pain in her stomach, but it didn't work. And slowly she drifted away, to a completely different and new place.

* * *

Slowly, Christmas spirit started to move into the BAU. Snow was starting to fall from the sky, and people started to decorate their houses, or in the team's case, their offices. All of the agents were starting to calm down a bit, returning to their normal work schedule and getting in the holiday spirit. Emily quietly stopped being the topic for the conversation, and JJ was the only one who occasionally visited the hospital, to be filled in on the details, and to see if anything had changed.

Well, this was the case for the whole team… Except for Hotch. Ever since that first day, he had been visiting her every single day. Sometimes just to see her, to see for himself that she indeed was still alive, even if it was only barely. Sometimes he came to talk to her about what was going on in his mind, what he was thinking, or if there had been any special interesting cases, he would tell her. The nurses outside were getting a bit worried after a while. No matter which day it would be, he would always show up at 2 pm and then leave again an hour later. But Hotch really didn't care about the nurses. All he cared about was Emily. He needed to see her. It was the only thing that calmed him down, even if just for a second. Just seeing her beauty of grace. Just hearing the heart monitor made him feel safe.

But even if he was still on the edge of breaking down inside, he wouldn't let it take control of him. So he took control over his fears. He laughed and joked with the rest of the team, he worked hard on the cases and tried the best he could; he played with Jack and made sure he knew how much he loved him and he made time to go see Emily every day.

But even if it calmed him down to go and see her, it still frustrated him. If she was really okay, then why wouldn't she open her eyes? The doctors said that she was doing a lot better, and was back to usual, but her eyes were still closed. She wasn't awake. She wasn't there with him, by his side. But then again, he would have to get used to it. As much as he hated it, he knew that his feelings were only one sided. She didn't see him as anything but her boss. So he needed to be that, just her boss.

But he couldn't do that, and he knew it. That's when the nightmares started.

* * *

Hotch was standing in the middle of the living room in his old house, the one he had with Haley.

He looked around the room - the TV was on and he could see the football players running around the field like small ants on the ground.

"Aaron, dinner is ready."

It was Haley. Why was he here? They were separated, weren't they? Hotch slowly lifted himself from the comfortable couch and walked into the dining room. The table was way longer than he remembered it being. There was like 3 meters between them. He slowly, hesitatingly eased himself on the other side of the table, across from Haley. Jack was sitting in the middle, but there was something wrong. It was like something was missing, but Hotch simply couldn't put a word on it.

Then he discovered. Jack wasn't smiling or laughing anymore, like he always was. Haley… She just sat there, watching the poorly decorated dinner table, trying to eat something, but she was struggling, he could see that. That was when he discovered the bruises on her face and her body. Who could do such a thing? He couldn't believe it. He slowly opened his mouth, trying to say something, to ask her what had happened, but he regretted it again, and closed his mouth.

His eyes looked around the all too familiar, and yet still so distant place. The walls… There was something new and different about them. Were they… melting? Yes, they were melting! And the colors, all the stuff, the walls, the windows. It was like wet paint, running down a painting, leaving no trace behind on its journey. After a few seconds, everything was completely black. No walls, no floor, no anything. None of the others seem to mind.

"Hotch… We have to talk." Hotch looked up at his speaking ex-wife.

"Of course… What is it Haley?" Hotch observed how she shivered with the mentioning of her name.

Then suddenly he saw something that scared him. Haley. She swished over to being Emily, but only less than a second, before she swished back to herself again.

"Are? … Are you okay, Haley?" She bit down her lower lip, holding back the tears.

"You know I'm not okay." She looked him in the eyes. Her look was as cold as a stone, and he felt almost freaked out. He wondered if he should excuse himself, or stay and listen to her, in hopes of finding out the story behind this. It only took him a second to decide to stay. He was, after all, still the father, and was going to take care of both Jack and Haley even if he had stopped loving her a long time ago. She was still the mother of his son.

"Don't play stupid Aaron." Haley started to cry. Something was terribly wrong. The way she said his name, it wasn't her voice. It was Emily's voice. "You know as well as I do what happened so stop pretending that you care about either me or Jack."

And out of nowhere, this screen showed up in the background playing a film. Hotch looked at it in terror. It was him beating Haley up, right in front of Jack. It couldn't be! Did he do that? All by himself? Why? He would never-!

Hotch looked Haley directly in the eyes.

"You let down your family Aaron. You let down Jack." Haley was mad. Furious, but then all of the sudden, she switched back to Emily. She had been crying and her mascara was all over her face. Her hair was lightly mussed, and her face and her lips were as pale as milk. She almost looked dead in her face, but her eyes were so full of frustration, hatred, understanding, love and disappointment. "You let me down…" After she had said those words, she suddenly switched over to Haley again.

"Emily?" Hotch asked. Jack was crying.

"Emily! Where are you!" he shouted, but it didn't matter.

"She's gone Aaron." Those were Haley's last words before she and everything else disappeared in the room.

"NOOOO!" Hotch woke up screaming and sweating in his bed. He looked at the empty spot next to him and cried. It was just a nightmare.

But something deep inside him wished that the chaos would soon end. It had been too long. He needed her to wake up. He needed her to be present. Just to be there. Even if she could never be his, he just wanted to see her once more. He wished to see her beautiful sparkling eyes and that honest smile of hers.

* * *

"Hello, this is SSA Aaron Hotchner; can I speak to the Ambassador?" Hotch was sitting at his desk. He wasn't completely sure to what he was doing, but he had to do something.

"Of course, I'll wait." He quickly shifted in his seat and pulled himself together when he heard the Ambassador's voice.

"Agent Hotchner. Long time no see. What can I do for you?"

"It has been a long time. I was just calling to tell you how truly sorry I am about what happened to your daughter. It was never supposed to end this way. She was a good agent and truly a magnificent person."

"Of course. Is there any change in her condition?"

"I'm afraid not ma'am. You could come down to see her for yourself if you had time. I'm sure it would mean a lot to her, even if she's not awake yet."

"I suppose you're right. As her mother, it would be a shame to do otherwise. But I really don't know what to think anymore. It has been weeks. Maybe it's time to say goodbye, and realize that she's not coming back anymore."

"With all respect Ma'am, I think it's too soon to do that. I would still like to believe that she will wake up someday and come back to the real world. It's too soon for her to pass away, she's still too young."

"Of course… Well I have a meeting to attend to, so I'll have my secretary call you when I'm coming so you can tell me more about everything. I've heard you were there when it happened."

"Of course Ma'am. Goodbye."

"See you soon Agent Hotchner." That was the last thing before the call ended. This was a good thing, he thought to himself. Her mother was coming. Christ, what was he thinking, that mother is as hard as a rock. What could possibly be good about this?

* * *

**So my question for you: Where is Emily? What's this new place? Where is it?**


	7. Nothing as Home

**So before you read this, I would like to thank my new beta-reader tazlvr2001. She's always extremely fast and good to correct my mistakes :) Thank you! Please R&R!**

* * *

"Hello Agent Hotchner. It's a pleasure to see you again. How's the wife? Haley, right?" The Ambassador stepped into the hospital lobby, where she was greeted by Hotch.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ma'am. I'm sorry, but Haley and I divorced a while ago. It didn't work very well with my job." He said gesturing forward to the hall leading to Emily's room.

"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that."

"That's alright, Ma'am. I've moved on."

"Well I'm glad to hear that."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to Emily's room. Hotch really hadn't anything to say, that wouldn't sound too awkward and the ambassador didn't really seem to mind the silence anyway, and he sure enough didn't want to sound rude or impolite in front of an ambassador. Especially not when it was Emily's mother!

When they finally reached the door, both of them stood still.

"Well, Agent Hotchner, if you wouldn't mind, I would like some privacy with my daughter."

"Of course, Ma'am, I'll just be at the cafeteria." Hotch said, before carefully starting to walk away.

After a moment Ambassador Prentiss let out a deep breath before steeping inside the room. She wouldn't quite admit it to herself but she actually was a bit terrified to see Emily. It would confirm everything and make it so much more real. Her little girl, slowly passing away, slipping through her hands, and she couldn't do anything about it. Well, Emily wasn't so little anymore, she sure as hell knew that, but she was still too young to say goodbye to the world. A daughter should never go before her mother.

"Oh dear Lord," Elizabeth said, as she sat down on the chair next to Emily's bed.

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you; you're not looking too good right now."

Looking on the pale skin of her unconscious daughter, she shook her head.

"This is ridiculous…" She took a deep breath, and breathing out, she placed her elbows on her lap. "Speaking to a practically dead person, like some idiot. Not very… suiting… for a person in my position." A tear almost got to her eye, but she quickly blinked and whipped it away.

"Well, it's your god damn own fault young lady. I've always said that it was an extremely bad idea to choose this sort of career, especially not when you're the daughter of an ambassador. I had so high hopes for you, you know that? I even got you into Yale.

"You were one the best students there, and then you tell me that you want to work with all this profiling and all this death and horror. I don't really think I'll ever understand why. Well, after all, you're still my little Em. I just wished you would have listened to me. Then maybe none of this would have happened. Then I wouldn't have to stand by your grave, when you're only almost forty. It's just not fair. Don't you see? There're much better ways to help people, then this horrible job. I raised you to be better, and I should've stopped you, while I still could. But sometimes I think you're even more stubborn than me." She laughed briefly, remembering all of their fights about her career. "Even as a child you always stood me up. I know that you hated traveling around all the time, but it's a part of being an ambassador, a part that I have to stay loyal to. I know that I haven't always been the best mother. Always keeping you in the dark, never showing you how a felt, but that's what being a diplomat's all about. But I think it's been better lately. We finally started speaking again, going out to lunch occasionally. I know I still can't drag you with me to foundations, but I can live with that."

Now she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She kept thinking about what a bad relationship they'd had, but ever since that case in Baltimore where she had been playing along, helping the best she could, it felt like they had come closer to each other. Finally. But now, all just seemed wasted.

Elizabeth looked down at her daughter. She originally came here to say goodbye, but now… She couldn't do it… She almost felt ashamed of herself, for not being able to let go. But it was too soon. She had to hope. After all, it was still her daughter lying there. That little sweet and stubborn little girl, Emily. Little Em.

She thought back to where it all started. When she first found out about her pregnancy. The happiest day of her life. They had tried to get a baby for so long, and now… She couldn't believe she had a growing human inside of her, and when she finally came to the world. Just to hold that little one in her arms and know that _you_ created that lovely little quiet girl lying so beautifully in your hands. A little life.

Emily was a real troublemaker as a kid. Messing around with the boys at school, playing sports and always coming home with holes in her pants and dirty from top to bottom. But no matter what, she always had this little angle smile on her face. Her eyes were always sparkling from excitement. Of course, all of that went always when she got grounded.

But then the moving started to form their way into the little family's life. In the new schools Emily had a hard time. She got picked on and looked down at and was always the new girl everywhere they went. It was tiring, and after a while that sparkle and smile just simply faded as she tried her best to be accepted. And that's when she got pregnant as a 15 year old. Her mother freaked out. Completely. Since then, the ambassador never trusted her daughter again. It was a real freak-show.

Since then, things just seem to go down the drain really. Emily started having her own life, and a life that her mother was no longer a part of. In high-school she posed as some kind of goth-girl, protesting in every way possible. Then she got into the bureau. That was too much for her mother to handle. They completely stopped talking to each other. Her little innocent Em, working on solving crimes and wanting to be where all those horrible terrors…Death all over the place. She thought it was all her fault. She blamed herself for raising some kind of cold hearted monster as a daughter. She was too blinded to look behind and see the true Emily hiding behind. But as the years went by, she started to just miss her daughter. She couldn't possibly be that bad. She had never even seen her hurt a fly. Well, only in trying to make justice. _That_ she was good at, even though it usually ended up being at bigger mess than to begin with. Her parents didn't always appreciate that…

* * *

The ambassador was sitting in the hospitals cafeteria, enjoying dinner.

Once Hotch came with their food, Elizabeth made a face, looking down at the boring salad in front of her. She took a small bite anyway, swallowing hard.

"Well this surely doesn't look like any high standard place. If the doctors are as bad as the food, I'm changing her to a private hospital, where she can get better medical help."

Hotch let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad that she's here. It gives us all a chance to visit her once in a while." He said.

"Yes… Agent Hotchner, why don't you tell me more about my daughter?" The Ambassador looked him directly in the eyes almost making him sweat. He blushed slightly for a second, but straightening up with an insecure chuckle.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Well, what was she like? Was she a good agent? Did she have any love interests? What was she like as a person? I know I'm her mother, but being out on assignments all the time, it feels like I've never got the chance to know very much anymore." The ambassador looked curiously at him, waiting for an answer to her question.

_Let the interrogation begin… _Hotch thought to himself, before answering her questions.

"As her superior, I must say that that she has been a pleasure to work with - one of the best agents actually. She has this way of thinking out of the box and her background knowledge helps her a lot, and she's in a great form, good with a gun, works just as well out in the field as in the office. Well, I can't possible say very much about her personal life. It hasn't been too long since she started on the team." Hotch let out a shy breath, but straightening his back, he choose to continue, looking down at the table. "I don't think she had any boyfriends. You must understand, working in the FBI, you don't have the time to date and stuff like that. Our job takes away all our time. Which I honestly think was a shame in Emily's case. She's so beautiful and smart. You can tell she has a great sense of humor. That way her eyes sparkles and that smile she has. It's really something special, and most importantly, she has a good heart. A pure soul. She's very loyal if you get close to her, but sometimes I think she's scared of being led down if she lets people get too close to her. That's the biggest shame I think, but I don't know. She kept most of her emotions to herself, at least the deepest. You sometimes have a very tough and stubborn daughter." Hotch smiled. "But she was lovely, a wonderful person. I hope that she soon will wake up." Hotch looked up, suddenly blushing slightly, afraid that the he might have been a bit carried away.

"Agent Hotchner, is there something going on with you and my daughter?" she asked, a bit suspicious.

"No, no, of course not Ma'am. Of course not, I'm her boss. It's just when you work with someone for a long time, you want things to work out for the other. I just want to see her happy. Even _if_ I liked her, I couldn't do that to her. I want the best for all of my agents." Hotch kept stoic all the time.

"Of course, I understand. I just hope she finds happiness, no matter who it's with, and don't worry Agent Hotchner, I'm sure you'll find the one for you someday."

Hotch looked down. _I have already found the one for me… I just wish I was the one for her…_


	8. A Known Person

When Emily woke up she was lying in the hospital bed.

"Where am I? Hotch?"

She had to find him. That way she'd run away… She had to find him. She had to…She quickly rose from the mattress she was lying on. But only to be stopped by a person that she had _not_ expected at all.

"Marilyn Monroe?"

She remembered the white dress and the curly blond hair everywhere. It was one of her biggest idols from when she was a child. She'd always loved her from the beginning. True enough, Emily had a more feminine side as well. She liked all her movies, and she loved her singing. And it was some of the only movies that she liked that her mother would let her watch. Sometimes she even saw the movies with her. But, that only happened twice, and one of those times she had to leave during the movie. It didn't really matter. It was a bit awkward anyway. She wasn't really use to the attention. The only really attention she got was from the changing nannies, that sometimes didn't even speak English, depending on where they were. She bonded very nicely with some of them, and even shared some of her dreams and thoughts and feelings with them. But she knew it would all eventually come to an end, and if she didn't like the nanny very much, she would tease them in every way possible. She loved to make life hard for them.

"Calm down sweetie, I'm not gonna bite you or anything."

Emily looked at the doorway when another person walked in. This one she knew too well. It was good old Inspector Harry Callahan from the Dirty Harry movies.

"But he might bite," Monroe said, pointing at Callahan.

Seeing the look Harry gave Marilyn, Emily decided to step in.

"Enough you two! I have to know what happened? And what the hell are you two even doing here? Marilyn, you're dead, and Harry, you're a fiction character from police movies!"

"We're here to help you. We're your inner voices or stuff like that," Harry said.

"Let me take over here," Marilyn interrupted. "What do you remember as the last thing sweetie?"

"Running towards my car. Hotch holding me in his arms." Remembering she started to tear up. "I have to know what happened! I have to find him!"

"Alright, calm down. Let's take a look back at that night." Marilyn snapped her fingers once, and suddenly Emily was standing at the ball like a ghost, looking inside at herself. She watched as she stepped outside to the garden, followed by Hotch. Emily saw how he asked her if she was alright. He said he loved her. Emily's heart started to beat faster. She wasn't sure she was ready to relive this moment after all. She saw how he kissed her, first on the lips, then moving down the neck even though she hadn't even kissed him back. It almost made her cry to watch herself this way. It hurt a bit, like she was losing a bit of herself to the person in front of her. And it hurt, like all of her dignity and confidence was blown away and stolen from her that very moment when she let her guard down…and when she ran away. Emily followed as she saw her beginning to walk toward her car. Hotch was yelling something behind her, but then a shooter got into sight, and just when everything seemed so dark, he shot her. Right in the stomach.

Hotch ran over as quickly as he could shooting the shooter. Emily watched as he shouted for help. It almost made her cry. She heard her last words before she passed out in his arms. He was still screaming. Screaming like hell. She didn't know whether or not to feel sorry for him. He was still a jack-ass for wanting to sleep with her for some stupid bet. Ass-hole. But she stilled loved him. So she kept on watching as she was being transferred to the hospital, and when the doctor came out and told him what had happened.

Emily sat the whole picture on pause as she turned around to meet Marilyn and Harry.

"So that's where I am, right? I'm in a coma. This is just some kind of dream."

"As sure as my name is Harry Callahan!"

"Just keep on watching. We're only here to help you," Marilyn advised as Emily once again turned around.

It was hard watching. The stuff just got right through her.

She saw how Hotch freaked. She saw him break down. She saw him visiting her first in the morning, wanting to be there before everybody else. It was so sad. Watching him sit there and talk to her, even if she wasn't there anymore. She couldn't hear him, but she wished that she would've been able to hear him at that time and not now.

Then all the sudden he left and he never came back. He kept to himself, holding back all of his emotions. It made Emily feel sad. He _was_ really sorry about what had happened… and when she saw him speaking to Rossi, she actually almost felt sorry for calling him a jack-ass. She remembered her earlier dreams. But even then, he never came and visited her. Why? She didn't understand.

Something changed when they got back from the case. He started visiting her! He was so sweet. He told her that he loved her. He kissed her and apologized and everything and he gave her this lovely necklace around her neck. He held her hand, and he wished, he wished so deeply that she would open her eyes again, that she would come back to the living again. And now she almost wished that she would just wake up.

He came every day, and her mother came once as well. All the nice things she told her. Why couldn't she be more like that when Emily was actually awake?

It was so sweet and Hotch kept on coming, every day at the same time. Once or twice he even brought Jack along. That little kid was so cute, it was adorable. When Christmas came closer, Hotch bought a little plastic tree for her to stand on the desk next to her bed. He and Jack decorated it as well. There were even some cards and presents under it. It made Emily smile ever so brightly, that people actually cared so much about her. When she was just a little kid sneaking into the cinema to what all the action films, she had never in her wildest dreams imagined that someone would ever care for her that much as she saw him do. It was beautiful.

When the 23rd of December arrived the picture stopped. It was now today again. Emily turned around to watch the two others.

"Wow. He really does care," she said.

"Yes sweetie. He really cares about you and he wants you to wake up again and be with him again," Marilyn said.

"But… I don't know. He's my boss. I'm sure that's the only reason for him to come to see me and even if he loves me… and I love him… No, he's still my boss first of all. It could never happen. No matter how much I want it to happen."

"It's too bad. He's so handsome. That black hair. Those beautiful, brown eyes. They could melt me away. That black suit and red tie. That sexy six-pack…"

"Hey! He's mine!" Emily interrupted Marilyn, blushing interruptedly.

"Then why don't you go get him for heaven sake!" Harry said.

"No! It's more complicated than that…"

"If you say so sweetheart… We'll go away. Just follow your heart. You could of course just stay here forever. Why don't you just think about it?" Marilyn said taking away with Harry in her arm.

"Alright…" Emily sighed, sitting down.

* * *

**Alright, so this is chapter 8 of my story. To give you something something, I'm gonna let you guys choose what you want for the next chapter:**

**Do you want to hear about the time in reality from when her mother came, untill the 23rd**

**or**

**Do you want to hear Emily's faith right away?**


	9. Good Evening

Hotch almost felt relieved when the ambassador left again. He couldn't help to notice how different she seemed from what he thought of her after what Emily had said about her.

But then again, things didn't really matter anymore now when Emily was gone… He tried his best, though. He really did. He still visited her every single day, even when the job was calling and everything. He always made time for Emily. Sometimes when he had Jack over, he even let him come along to see her. Jack thought she was sleeping beauty waiting for her prince to come and save her, but he couldn't understand why the prince hadn't come yet? What could possibly take him so long? Did his horse need oil or something like that? Hotch of course couldn't help but to laugh at that comment. His little boy could be so cute sometimes. It was kind of tough to be a single dad and raise your child, especially with a job like his. He barely made time to see Emily.

Time kept passing with the speed of light, and suddenly everything was surrounded with a white layer of snow everywhere. It was beautiful when you took the time to really look at it, but it was cold…very cold… and things just kept getting tougher for Hotch. Why wouldn't Emily wake up? So he soon decided to make something out of the time. He found a small fake Christmas tree to put on her counter as a replacement for flowers like in the summer. He put together the finest card he could, telling her how sorry he was about everything and that he promised to leave her alone from now on. It would have absolutely no effect on the job, and everything would go back to normal. He also bought this book he knew she'd like, and put the little key to her golden heart on top of it, promising to step down again.

Soon, most of the team had put small things under the tree and many, many cards wishing her a Merry Christmas and some were even get well soon cards. Small candles where put around the tree, giving it such a nice glow when they were turned on. It couldn't possibly get better even though Emily didn't seem to wake up, and suddenly, it was the 23rd of December. It was almost Christmas and Emily seemed to have been forgotten by everyone in the stress and chaos around them. Maybe it was all for the best. Maybe it was time for Hotch to let her go.

* * *

Emily was still sitting down, thinking about everything. It would be so much easier if she just said goodbye. She could be so happy in heaven, but she would still miss Hotch, the most important thing. Maybe it was all for the better. He deserved a chance in life, a chance to find true love, to be happy with someone that would make him smile and laugh, and someone that could hold him tightly when he needed it because that was what he was worth, and she knew that she couldn't do any of those things for him, no matter how hard she wished.

Then she remembered something. She remembered her friends - JJ, Morgan, Garcia, Reid, and Rossi, her team. Almost like family. And her real family. The things she had heard her mother say to her. She still was a bit off about some things, but she was getting there, and it made her happy.

Maybe the situation with Hotch really wasn't that bad at all. He gave her the necklace. Came visiting her every day. He even set up the thing with the Christmas tree in the middle! He was truly sorry about everything. She could feel that, and it made her happy, but it would still not be easy to turn him down this way, especially not after suffering under a coma for she didn't know how long. Two months?

But still, was it worth it?

* * *

Back in hospital it had become the 24th of December, Christmas Eve. Emily was lying nice and easy in a deep sleep on the bed, still in her own little world of coma.

The nurse, a bit chubby but still an extremely nice woman, was walking into the room. She had done this every day since Emily came. She would see to the flowers, make sure all of her vitals were okay and of course make sure that Hotch hadn't brought too much dirt in with him, but everything looked nice and steady.

Until something happened…

The nurse was standing in the doorway about to walk out, when she suddenly heard a change in the heart rate, followed by coughing sounds. Quickly she turned around to see Emily waking up! It was a miracle!

As soon as she could she ran back into the room, paging a doctor.

Soon after, Emily was sitting up in the bed, looking around in the room.

"What happened?" she asked.

The nurse let her look around a bit more, before answering her questions. The doctor had already left again, after checking that everything was alright, leaving the explanation part to the nurse.

"You were shot. When the doctor operated on you something happened, and you ended up in a coma."

"Coma?" Emily said out loud completely in shock. "How long?"

"Two months I'm afraid."

"Wow… That long? … Wow…" she said, not knowing what to say at all. The last thing she could remember was kissing Hotch, and running away.

"Hotch…" she soon said. "Where's Hotch?"

"Hotch?" the nurse asked a bit of confused. "Oh, Hotch! That must be the guy who comes every day. Black short hair. Black suit. Looking kind of sad or angry all the time? Sometimes he brought his little son, Jack I think, along."

"Yes!" Emily said. "Him!"

The nurse was still a bit confused though. "Do you want me to call him miss?"

Emily thought about for a bit. "No," she finally said. "Don't call him; I don't matter to him," she said in a sad tone.

The nurse gave a silly laugh at that comment. "He has been here almost every single day since you've been in the coma. See that necklace around your neck?"

Emily looked down. '_Wow! He really gave me this?'_ she thought.

"He is the one who gave you that. It looks like pure gold to me. Lots of money. And that tree with all the presents under it? He set it all up! It's rare that I see a man care so much that he would do that. Visiting you every day? If you don't matter to him, then I don't know what does," she said.

Emily was completely in shock. She had no words.

Seeing that, the nurse said: "Why don't I leave you alone for a while? It's getting dark outside, and I'm sure you want to rest a bit. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

She smiled gently before leaving the room again, leaving Emily alone.

Emily moved to the side of the bed, seeing the tree and everything. She took some of the cards out and read them to herself. It made her so happy to know that people actually still thought of her. It was so sweet; it almost brought tears to her eyes, but then she found the card from Hotch.

This one actually made her cry. He had no idea about how much she just wanted to be in his arms. How much she wanted him. She could of course forgive him for what he had done, seeing all this and reading that beautifully written letter, but she couldn't take the chance. Of course, she didn't believe that he would actually pull that trick off again, but he didn't feel the same way about her, as she felt for him, because if he did, then he would never have made a _bet_ about her.

But then again, she had to see him. She just had to. No matter the cost. She had to get out of this hospital…

So seeing the nurse out of the room and the door closed, she slowly moved to her legs. They were a lot heavier than she remembered.

When she first rose from the bed, she immediately sat back down. Her body wasn't quite ready to move again, but she grabbed the edge of the hospital bed and forced herself up with help from her arms. Slowly she took the first step. It was small step, but still the first step was taken. Now nothing could stop her. She had to get out of this place.

She moved with difficulty over to the table with the tree and took Garcia's present. It was some clothes they had looked at before she… well, past out so to say… But Emily had no money, so they left the shop again.

After getting back to the bed, she slowly changed out of the hospital gown, and into the new clothes. Garcia wanted to make sure that her beautiful FBI-agent had something to wear when she woke up, so she had already bought everything necessary, even underwear. Which Emily dearly appreciated at this point.

After she rose again, she soon got the hang of that walking thing. Taking all her stuff with her, she opened the window in the room, and soon there was nothing or no one left in the hospital room.


	10. Finding The Way

Emily stopped again when she reached the street. She clearly hadn't thought this through. Where did she want to go? She couldn't go home and be alone in her apartment on Christmas Eve. Thinking about all this, her legs automatically started to walk, without her knowing where they were leading her. She couldn't call her mother, no. She wondered if her mother even came to visit her when she was in the hospital? Probably not. She was thinking about calling JJ or Garcia. No, Garcia would freak out and JJ…she had her own small family to take care of this evening, but Emily was happy for her. She'd gone to visit her before, and she was completely in love with her little boy. Henry…

Actually, she had nowhere to go…maybe a bar somewhere? No, she couldn't go out in public. They had probably found out by now that she was missing in the hospital and was on the search for her. Maybe she should have stayed behind? No, she couldn't stay in that cold and heartless place for more days than she already had. She had been there in that stupid coma for so long already. She wondered if the world had changed much in that time, or her friends or at work. Did they find a replacement for her? Was she totally forgotten by now? Then she remembered her clothes and the card and presents. And then, the three.

The three…Hotch…The bet…She stopped in the middle of the street. Looking up in the sky, a little raindrop landed on her forehead. Soon the rain came pouring down, crashing over her. Looking at the surroundings, she realized that she was standing across from Hotch's house. Sitting down on the curb, she let the rain fall uncontrollably upon her. Tears now rolling slowly down her cheeks, she looked inside of the house.

It was just Hotch and Jack inside playing some game, laughing and fooling around. She wished she was a part of it, but she could never be. She didn't even know why she had stopped here of all places.

Time went by slowly as Emily watched the little family play. She was completely soaked, but didn't care very much. Maybe she should've gone home with her things before coming. But it didn't matter, they were protected, and she didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay here forever.

* * *

Inside of the house, a happy little Jack was fooling around with his father, jumping on his back and such, but soon Hotch was getting a bit tired so he went to get some coffee and clean a bit up in the kitchen.

Jack, still full of energy, crawled up to the window to look at the rain pouring down. He lightly touched the cold glass, looking on the small drops sliding down. He traced his finger down with one of the drops, watching as it melted together with others on its way down, and that was when he saw her. Sleeping Beauty.

"Daddy! Daddy! Come quick!"

As soon as Hotch heard his son's voice, he dropped everything he had in his hands and ran into the living room as soon as he could.

"Daddy, look! Sleeping Beauty is awake!"

Hotch couldn't believe his eyes as he saw her standing outside! "What?"

"Sleeping Beauty's not sleepy anymore. Look, she's awake!" Jack said, giggling loudly. "But why is she sad?"

Hotch had no words to answer his son. "I…I don't know…Look Jack, I have to go out to her. I'll be right back." He said, running away.

"Okay…" Jack said, still looking out the window.

Hotch put his jacket on as quickly as possible and grabbed the umbrella, almost forgetting his shoes in the rush.

* * *

Emily looked up, seeing the shadow approaching her and quickly stood up, holding her arms closely pressed into her body. It was Hotch, she knew it! For a moment she looked away, trying to find a road that she could escape, but hearing his voice calling her name, she stopped.

"Emily!" Hotch yelled, running towards her. "Emily!"

He stopped when he got so close he could touch her.

He slowly moved forward her, but Emily stepped back, holding her hand out.

"Don't," she said in a whisper. She was crying slowly.

"Emily?" Hotch looked confused at her. "You're awake…"

"I know, I'm not stupid." Emily said in a bitchy voice, stumbling, but refusing help.

"I…I don't know what to say…" Then he took a closer look at her. "Emily, you're soaking wet! Let's get you inside and dried."

Hotch reached out after her arm, but she quickly removed it, not letting her touch him.

"NO!" she said. "I mean, no…I'm not going inside."

Hotch looked at her in wonder. How could she be so stubborn even when she was freezing to death out here?

"Come on Emily. You're freezing. I'm not going to bite you or anything."

"No. It might just be some kind of trick to get me to bed and prove your point to Morgan and Rossi." Emily blurred out without thinking. Suddenly she realized what she said, and stepped back looking at Hotch.

"What? What are talking about? I would take advantage of my co-workers to make some kind of point? Where did you get that from?" He looked confused but still seriously at her. Was there something he had missed?

"Well then try to explain that bet you made with Rossi and Morgan at the ball, to take advantage of my feelings to get me to bed with you. That's not okay! You should know that! Just because…Well just because I like you, doesn't mean you can use that for your own sake…" Emily thought about stopping there but she couldn't, now that she finally said it. "It's okay that you don't feel the same way for me. I can be completely professional, no problem, but that you would go and lie to me…Tell me that you love me and kiss me like that? That's sick! And that's your problem not mine, cause I'm not going to tolerate it! Find another girl to play with, I'm out!"

It took Hotch a moment, but finally he got what she was talking about. She must've heard his conversation with the guys and left before they were finished. Hotch wondered how she could think so low of him? Betting around about other people's feelings? Not this Hotch! Quickly he moved forward and dropping the umbrella down to the ground, he wrapped his arms around Emily's body, and held her as tight to him as possible.

Emily tried to escape at first, but he wouldn't let her.

"Special Agent Emily Prentiss, I love you with all my heart and I will never let go of you again. Not ever. I never made any bet. The other guys were fooling with me because they know that I love you so much, but couldn't find the nerves to tell you, because I was too scared that you didn't feel the same way about me and I would lose you forever. So Morgan said that-"

"- he would bet that you could get me into bed as easily as blinking." Emily finished for him still wrapped in his arms.

"Yes, and after joking about that, I told him that they should stop making fun of me just because I like you."

Emily stood still in his arms for a moment, not really sure what to think. No bet? No bet…

Suddenly, with no warnings at all, Emily quickly moved forward, wrapping her arms even tighter around Hotch's body. Hotch chuckled lightly of relief, but Emily couldn't help but to shed a tear.

After a moment, Emily looked up into Hotch eyes, and that's when she saw it - his love for her. Only this time it wasn't any trick. It had never been. How could she be so blind?

Emily slowly moved forward hesitantly. Hotch did the same thing. Slowly Emily lifted her hand and lightly touching his face before lightly kissing his lips.

What seemed like hours passed, standing close in each other's arms kissing like this.

When they finally parted for air, they looked into each other's eyes. Emily couldn't help but laugh at the slightly awkward moment. As soon Hotch saw that he couldn't help to move forward once more to kiss her again. How he'd miss that smile.

They stood a bit in the silence not really sure about what to do, before Hotch held out a hand, leading her back to the house. Emily stepped forward but quickly fell to the ground. She'd forgotten everything about her legs and the coma. Hotch helped her up again.

"I'm sorry; my legs aren't quite use to the walking thing just yet." She told him.

"When did you even wake up? Shouldn't you be at the hospital still?" Hotch asked in a concerned tone.

"I woke up some hours ago I think. I escaped from the window. I couldn't stand being in that lonely room anymore. It's Christmas Eve." She very honestly told him, and maybe she was a bit too honest…

"What? Emily, I can't believe it!" Hotch stood still for a moment before hugging her again. "Emily…You know I love you, but I have to take you back to the hospital." Seeing the terror in Emily's eyes, he continued. "I know it's cold, dark, raining and it's Christmas Eve, but you have to go back. It's for your own safety, and I'll be there all the way. Don't worry about Christmas…You know what? Let's bring Jack along! We can celebrate Christmas at the hospital just the three of us!"

Emily blushed for a moment, not knowing what to say, but slowly nodded her head in agreement to his offer, moving along with him in her arms, stepping out of the rain and into the warmth and comforting.

* * *

**A/N: So this is the end of this story, finally! :D The rest of the holiday will be spend at the hospital with Hoth, Jack and the other memebers come by as well. **

**Happy Holiday! ;)**


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